Washington Capitals at Anaheim Ducks Game Preview

A couple of teams on winning streaks, the Washington Capitals and the Anaheim Ducks face off at the Honda Center for an East-West matchup. NBC Sports Network will showcase the matchup, and the opening face-off is at 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 6.

Washington Capitals at Anaheim Ducks Odds

Anaheim (-140) is currently the favorite over Washington (+120) and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The line for betting that total stands at -110 money on the over and -110 on the under.

Washington is 37-28 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 4.1 units this season. Through 65 regular season matches, 38 of its games have gone over the total, while 26 have gone under and just one has pushed. The Caps are 14-17 SU on the road in 2017-18.

Washington has converted on 22.5 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s good enough for fifth-best in the league. Its penalty kill is ranked 18th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.8 percent of its penalties.

For the team as a whole, Washington has been sent to the penalty box 4.2 times per game overall in the 2017-18 season, and 5.4 per game over its last five on the road. The team has had to defend opponent power plays a whopping 14.0 minutes per game over their last five outings.

Averaging 28.2 saves per game with a .908 save percentage, Braden Holtby (29-18-4) has been the primary option in goal for Washington this year. If head coach Barry Trotz chooses to rest him, however, the team could turn to Philipp Grubauer (8-16-3), who has a .922 save percentage and 2.43 goals against average this year.

Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov will both look to continue their strong seasons for the visiting Capitals. Ovechkin (72 points) has tallied 40 goals and 32 assists, and has recorded two or more points in 19 different games. Kuznetsov has 20 goals and 44 assists to his name (and has logged a point in 39 games).

Anaheim is 33-33 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. 40 of its contests have gone under the total, while 25 have gone over and just one has pushed. The team is 18-14 SU at home this year.

Anaheim has converted on just 18.0 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that places it in the bottom 10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked fifth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.9 percent of all penalties.

Anaheim players have been sent to the penalty box 4.4 times per game in total this season, and 3.8 per game over their last five home outings. The team’s had to stave off opponent power plays 8.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.

John Gibson (29.6 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Anaheim. Gibson has 25 wins, 23 losses, and seven OT losses to his name and has recorded a .925 save percentage and 2.51 goals against average this year.

The home team offense will be led by Rickard Rakell (27 goals, 27 assists).

Washington Capitals vs. Anaheim Ducks Free Picks

Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Capitals, O/U – Under

Betting Trends

The total has gone over in three of Anaheim’s last five games.

The Capitals are 12-6 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 20-13 in games where they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total.

Three of Anaheim’s last ten games have been decided by a shootout. The team is 1-2 in those games and 4-7 overall in shootouts this season.

Anaheim skaters have averaged 6.0 takeaways per game over its last five home games, right in line with its season average of 5.9 takeaways per game (ranked 25th).

Washington skaters have forced 6.6 takeaways per game over its last five road games, its season average of 7.2 takeaways per game (ranked 16th overall).